“Waterboarding is torture,” the president insisted. “It’s contrary to America’s traditions. It’s contrary to our ideals. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we operate. We don’t need it in order to prosecute the war on terrorism. And we did the right thing by ending that practice.”

“I think the president is clearly wrong,” the candidate said. “I would go back to president Harry Truman who had to make the horrific decision about dropping an atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II. He said if he had to kill Japanese in order to save one American life, he would.”

“If as president of the United States, I believed that we would be able to save 3,000 American lives and stop jet aircraft from flying into the twin towers, I would utilize waterboarding if it would save American lives. Sometimes decisions have to be made.”

She concluded: “It is important for people to know no one died from the use of waterboarding. Is it uncomfortable? Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but our worries should not be the about the comfort level of a terrorist.”

Following the end of World War II, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East executed Japanese soldiers who participated in the waterboarding of U.S. soldiers.

About the Author

David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.